Let the Games begin!

                                                       Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The big day has finally arrived! At 9pm tonight the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games will begin and Her Majesty the Queen will officially open the 30th modern Olympiad. The flame, which began its journey in Athens, followed by a mammoth torch relay around the UK, will finally reach its destination and ignite the cauldron at the Olympic stadium...but who will be the lucky final torch bearer? This is just one of the many closely guarded secrets that will finally be unveiled tonight! One person who has been fortunate enough to attend a sneak preview of tonight's opening ceremony is Swansea Met's Andrew Campbell, Programme Director for Leisure, Tourism, Events and Sport Management. He had this to say about the impact of the 2012 Games and their legacy for the UK:

“As 4 billion people will be watching the opening Ceremony on Friday, the Games can rightly claim to be “the Greatest Show on Earth”. In tourism terms visitor numbers coming to London will increase by 13% over the next two weeks – but transport infrastructure will be stretched to  cope with 500,000 spectators and 80,000 members of the “Olympic Family” travelling daily to specific events. Investment controversies aside ie  is the cost of staging the Olympics, at £13 billion, justified? London and the rest of the UK will benefit significantly from the global exposure...so tourism benefits will be long term."

If you're interested to find out more about the Olympics why not take a look at our library website for lots of useful links and specialist databases such at Sport Discus...in the meantime, enjoy the show tonight! Good luck to all our Olympians! 

Olympic torch route and bearers revealed for Wales!

Yesterday it was revealed which cities, towns and villages in Wales will see the Olympic torch passing through, between 25th - 30th May.

For more information and to see how close to where you live/work/study the Olympic flame will be burning, take a look at this link from the BBC News website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17380922

For locals, the torch will arrive in Swansea on 26th May, and after staying in the city overnight will move on to Aberystwyth the following day.

If you are interested in finding out more about the 2012 Olympic Games or past Olympic events, you can use your SMU Library resources - we have lots of information in both print and e-format, just ask one of our librarians!

Olympic torch date for your diary!

The route the Olympic torch will take on its destination to London next summer has been announced, and Swansea has been revealed as one of the locations it will stop at overnight! Saturday 26th May 2012 is the scheduled date, and more details about the route will be announced later on in the year.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Olympic Games, whether it's the history of the event, the environmental impact, or you just fancy watching 'Chariots of Fire' take a look at our library catalogue for a comprehensive range of titles. We also have e-resources on the subject, for example both journal and newspaper articles are available through the databases JSTOR & Newsbank, and images through the Bridgeman Art Library Digital Image Database.

If you won't be in Swansea next May, you can view the other UK destinations where the torch is heading via the BBC news website - in total it's estimated that it will travel 8,000 miles before reaching London on 27th July, 2012!